Australia

Coronavirus Australia: Victoria reports record 532 new cases

The state of Victoria in Australia posted a daily record of 532 new coronavirus cases on Monday. The State's government warned that a lockdown in the city of Melbourne will continue if…

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Australian state of Victoria records daily virus record, warns of lockdown extension

Australia's Victoria state on Monday reported the country's highest daily increase in coronavirus infections, prompting the authorities to warn a six-week lockdown may last longer if people continue to go…

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Australia police win halt to Black Lives Matter protest amid COVID-19

An Australian court on Sunday ordered a halt to a Black Lives Matter protest for this week, accepting police concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, but the organiser vowed to appeal.…

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Australia reports jump in daily new cases, record deaths

Australia's second-most populous state, Victoria, recorded 459 cases of the new coronavirus, the second-highest daily total and up from 357 cases the previous day, the state's leader said on Sunday.…

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Coronavirus in Australia leads to mental health emergency

In Australia mental health emergency has erupted in the months since Australia launched its unprecedented response to coronavirus, with anxiety and depression rates skyrocketing. News.Com.Au reports that assuming the current coronavirus…

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Carnival’s Princess Cruises to extend some voyage suspensions until December

Carnival Corp's Princess Cruises said it would extend the suspension of select voyages through Dec. 15 as it looks to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. Princess Cruises also…

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Australia’s Tasmania opens travel bubble for COVID-free states

Australia's southern island state of Tasmania will next month begin accepting tourists from other areas of the country that have seen significant periods with no fresh cases of coronavirus, state…

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Australian state to send in the army to check on COVID-19 cases

Australia's Victoria state will send in the army to question people who have tested positive for COVID-19 as it battles to control an outbreak that claimed a record number of…

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Australia’s Victoria has highest daily death toll from coronavirus

Australia's second most populous state of Victoria said on Friday six people died from the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, the highest daily toll since the pandemic began. Three…

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Australia forecasts biggest postwar fiscal deficit on virus-driven stimulus

Australia reported its biggest budget deficit since World War Two on Thursday as the coronavirus crisis knocks the country into its first recession in three decades. The budget balance swung…

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Australia reports highest coronavirus deaths in 3 months, infections climb

Australia reported its highest daily number of coronavirus-related deaths in three months on Thursday as new infections continued to climb in its second most populous state. Victoria state said it…

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Last Qantas 747 departs Sydney for Mojave retirement

Qantas Airways Ltd chief executive Alan Joyce signed the carrier's last Boeing Co 747 jet at Sydney airport on Wednesday, shortly before it was due to fly to the Mojave…

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Australia’s Victoria state reports record new cases of coronavirus

Australia's second most populous state of Victoria reported on Wednesday two new deaths from the coronavirus and logged a record daily increase of 484 new cases compared with 374 cases…

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Australian houses on the brink of collapse as wild seas batter the coast

Some beachfront homes on Australia's east coast have come closer to slipping into the sea after wild storms lashed the coastline, residents said on Friday. Residents of Wamberal, about 90…

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Australian researchers invent 20-minute coronavirus blood test in world first

The South China Morning Post is reporting that researchers in Australia have devised a test that can determine novel coronavirus infection in about 20 minutes. Using blood samples in what…

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Australia posts surge in new COVID-19 cases

Australia’s Victoria state on Friday reported a record daily increase in COVID-19 cases while neighbouring New South Wales said it was banning dancing, singing and mingling at weddings as authorities…

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Faced with COVID-19, highest number of Australians tap retirement funds since April

Australians asked to pull out more than A$5 billion ($3.5 billion) from their pension funds in the first week of July, the highest since the government granted early access to…

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Australian pub cluster adds to second-wave coronavirus fears

Australia's most populous state reported 14 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, with a growing cluster at a pub used by freight drivers travelling the country adding to fears of…

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Australia’s Victoria state continues registering increases in infections

Australia’s Victoria state reported 273 new cases of the coronavirus and another COVID-19 death on Sunday, marking a week of triple-digit increases in infections, as state authorities battle fresh outbreaks…

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Sydney residents on high alert amid second-wave fears

Sydney is on high alert as large scale COVID-19 testing regimes place residents on standby for a potential second wave. A slew of Sydneysiders lined up in their cars in…

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Photo story – Policing in Melbourne

Police walk dogs belonging to residents of the Alfred Street public housing tower which remains under tight lockdown over to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia,…

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Australia’s Victoria reports record daily number of coronavirus cases

Australia's second most populous state of Victoria said on Friday the number of its new coronavirus infections had hit a daily record. State Premier Daniel Andrews, who said 288 new…

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Australia considers slowing return of citizens amid virus spike

Australia’s national cabinet met on Friday to discuss slowing the number of citizens allowed to return to the country from overseas, as authorities grapple with a COVID-19 outbreak in the…

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Australia to release most from COVID-19 high-rise lockdown despite surge

Australia's second-most populous will relax restrictions on many of the 3,000 people locked down in nine public-housing towers despite surging numbers of COVID-19 cases, state premier Daniel Andrews said on…

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Australian PM suspends extradition treaty, extends visas for Hong Kong citizens

Australia said on Thursday it was suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and announced measures to attract people and businesses from the Asian financial hub, after Beijing imposed…

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Melbourne wakes to another lockdown as more state borders close

Australia's second most populous city began a six-week lockdown on Thursday following a spike in new coronavirus cases, as states around the country tightened internal borders to prevent a second…

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Melbourne re-introduces lockdown after coronavirus spikes up again

Australia's second most populous state of Victoria will reimpose stay-at-home restrictions in metropolitan Melbourne and one regional area of the state, Premier Daniel Andrews said, after a record daily rise in coronavirus…

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Qantas to operate three one-hour “farewell jumbo joy flights” for 747 jumbo jet

Qantas has announced a program of events to farewell its last remaining Boeing 747 and provide Australians the opportunity to say goodbye to the much loved “Queen of the Skies”…

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Australia closes state border for first time in 100 years to halt coronavirus

The border between Australia’s two most populous states will close from Tuesday for an indefinite period, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said on Monday, following an outbreak of the coronavirus in…

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Thousands rally across Australia in Black Lives Matter protests

Thousands of protesters gathered on Saturday in cities across Australia, shouting slogans in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and aiming to raise awareness of the mistreatment of indigenous…

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Australia’s Victoria reports 108 new coronavirus cases, biggest jump in over 3 months

Australia's second most-populous state, Victoria, reported its biggest jump in coronavirus cases since late March on Saturday, forcing the expansion of stay-at-home orders to more Melbourne suburbs and the complete…

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Australia new virus cases fall

Australia reported a drop in new coronavirus cases on Friday, with a surge in the second most populated state Victoria appearing to have eased, although more than 10,000 people…

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No international flights for another year, says Qantas

Qantas has confirmed that it won’t fly internationally at all this year, in a major blow to all those hoping to reach Australia any time soon. The national flag carrier…

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Australia sets up suburban checkpoints to contain Melbourne virus hotspots

Australian police set up suburban checkpoints in new coronavirus hotspots in Melbourne on Thursday as authorities struggled to contain new outbreaks in the country's second-largest city, even as travel restrictions…

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New South Wales, Australia confirms 14 new cases – all returned travellers

The state of New South Wales in Australia on Wednesday announced 14 new coronavirus cases, but all are travellers currently in hotel quarantine, state health minister Brad Hazzard announced.…

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Melbourne orders 36 suburbs locked down, flights to be diverted to other states

Authorities on Tuesday ordered the lockdown of 36 suburbs in Australia’s second biggest city Melbourne to stop a spike in coronavius cases, a dramatic departure from the relaxation of…

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Quarter of businesses in Pacific fear they will not survive Covid-19 pandemic

A quarter of businesses in the Pacific are not confident they will survive the coronavirus pandemic despite the region largely avoiding the pandemic health crises seen elsewhere, a survey of…

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Australia sees biggest daily rise in COVID-19 cases in 2 months

Australia's second most populous state said on Monday it is considering reimposing social distancing restrictions after the country reported its biggest one-day rise in new coronavirus infections in more than…

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Australia’s Victoria state mandates coronavirus testing for travellers

Australia’s Victoria state will implement mandatory coronavirus tests for returning travellers after a sharp spike in infections over the past two weeks, the state’s premier said on Sunday. The country’s…

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Virgin Australia to fly again

U.S. private equity group Bain Capital said on Friday it has agreed with the administrator of Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd to buy Australia's second-biggest airline for an undisclosed sum, banking…

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Photo Story: Panic buying in Melbourne

Signage for product limits sits on an empty toilet paper shelf in a Woolworths Supermarket in Melbourne, Australia, 26 June 2020. People are panic buying more toilet paper as coronavirus…

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Australia on track to further ease coronavirus curbs, PM Morrison says

Australia will stick with plans to further ease coronavirus curbs, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday, despite a spike in infections in the second most populous state of Victoria.…

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Australia posts biggest one-day rise in coronavirus cases in two months

Australia's second most populous state deployed ambulances and mobile test centres in a coronavirus testing blitz as the country recorded the biggest daily rise in cases in two months. Victoria…

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Qantas to cut 6,000 jobs

Qantas Airways Ltd said on Thursday it is axing at least 20% of its workforce and plans to raise up to A$1.9 billion ($1.30 billion) of equity as part of…

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Australian musical theatre icon Michael Falzon has died at 48 after cancer battle

Australian musical theatre icon Michael Falzon has died at 48. The Rock of Ages frontman died on Tuesday night after a prolonged fight with a rare form of germ cell…

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Australia confirms first coronavirus death in a month

A person has died in the state of Victoria, Australia, in the first coronavirus-related death in more than a month. The man in his 80s died overnight. Australia’s total death…

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Australians reportedly re-stock essential items as coronavirus infections increase

Supermarkets in Australia have once again urged shoppers to buy only the real necessities as a recent spike in coronavirus infections has increased fears that social restrictions might be re-imposed.…

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Deloitte Australia cuts 7% of its workforce due to COVID-19

The Australian unit of global accounting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd said on Monday it will shed 7% of its workforce, joining a host of high-profile companies to slash costs…

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Australia state of Victoria reintroduces lockdown provisions as cases reach two-month high

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has announced a return of coronavirus restrictions after the state recorded 25 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours, the biggest increase in two months. The state…

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Australia sees China as main suspect in state-based cyberattacks, sources say

Australia views China as the chief suspect in a spate of cyber-attacks of increasing frequency in recent months, three sources familiar with the government's thinking told Reuters on Friday. The…

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Australia’s Victoria again sees double digit rise in coronavirus cases

Australia's second most populous state of Victoria recorded a double-digit rise in new coronavirus cases for the third straight day on Friday, raising doubts about how quickly the economy can…

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Australia says it has been target of ‘state-based’ cyberattacks

A "sophisticated state-based actor" has been attempting to hack a wide range of Australian organisations for months and had stepped up its efforts recently, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on…

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Photo Story Fifteen-year-old stabbed to death in Melbourne

Mourners react next to a floral tribute where a 15-year-old boy was stabbed to death outside Brimbank Shopping Centre, in Melbourne, Australia, 18 June 2020. Six teenage boys have been…

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Qantas halts most international flights until October

Qantas Airways Ltd said on Thursday it had cancelled most international flights until late October after the Australian government indicated its border closure because of the coronavirus was likely to…

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Australian PM says country’s job losses from coronavirus pandemic are devastating

The massive blow to Australia's employment sector from COVID-19 pandemic-driven lockdowns is "devastating", Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday after data showed the jobless rate surged to a 19-year…

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Australian universities to hire plane for foreign students shut out by virus border closure

Two Australian universities plan to hire a plane to fly in hundreds of foreign students shut out in the middle of their studies by border closures due to COVID-19, a…

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Fears of a second wave of coronavirus effects financial markets

The Australian and New Zealand dollars fell against their U.S. counterpart on Monday as fears of a second wave of the coronavirus in Beijing prompted investors to sell currencies sensitive…

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